I am a potter and musician and will use this blog to post pictures of my work and talk too much, most likely ......

Thursday, December 21, 2006

Solstice

tomorrow is the Winter Solstice - the shortest day of the year. oh yeah, Christmas is right around the corner too. my buddies, Daniel and Joseph, who i mentioned in the previous post,helped me to understand that the holidays we celebrate are connected to the Earth's trip around the Sun, and to the thinking that existed before Christianity. no one knows the actual birth date of Christ, so it was deemed a good idea to use the Winter Solstice, since it was already being celebrated. our Christmas holiday was " piggy - backed " onto the pagan observance. and look into the history of Coca-Cola to find out why Santa Clause looks the way he does. in Europe, where Christmas began, he is depicted as tall and lean. that guy could more easily get down one's chimney. hmmm ......... start piercing the veil. it's a whole lotta fun !!! so, what does all this mean? we are still connected, in our thinking and actions, to something bigger ....... though we don't know it. i just came back from turning a kiln on and it is starting to get light in the Eastern sky and the traffic on Rt. 4 is picking up. being a potter is a lot like being a farmer. once into a cycle of production it is a daily thing. and i mean every day. seven days a week. it's a privilege to be able to work like this and to be outside before the Sun comes up. and to have this quiet time of day to think about it all ......